England could allow Andy Flower to miss occasional Tests as part of an Indian Premier League job-share if it meant he agreed to return as their coach.
Flower, a three-time Ashes-winning England coach between 2009 and 2014, is the preferred candidate to replace Brendon McCullum, who was sacked as Test coach on Sunday but will remain as a white-ball specialist, starting with Tuesday’s first ODI against India at Edgbaston.
Speaking ahead of that match, McCullum apologised for failing to win the Ashes and promised to support whoever gets the Test job in a split-coaching structure that has often proved difficult for England to manage.
England’s interest was piqued by the surprise availability of McCullum’s former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, whose long association with IPL side Chennai Super Kings ended on Monday. It is unclear if Fleming would be interested in working for England, but he could become a candidate alongside Flower, Kumar Sangakkara and Richard Dawson, the Glamorgan coach. Rob Key, the managing director, will lead the recruitment after surviving in his post.
Richard Gould, the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive, said on Sunday that it is not ruling out an IPL job-share if it meant it secured the right candidate. It is understood that the ECB is not even against allowing that person to miss certain Test matches in order to fulfil pre-existing IPL commitments.
Flower is thought to be open to a conversation with England, but would not want to immediately walk away from his roles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he has won the past two IPLs, and London Spirit. Having previously worked with Trent Rockets, his first Hundred campaign with Spirit begins next week, and could end just three days before the first Test against Pakistan, at Headingley on August 19. England want to have their new coach in charge by then, but available Test players will have a preparatory camp the week before.
Next year’s IPL potentially clashes with two England Tests. There is a belief that the IPL could start earlier next year, possibly around March 15, which would mean a clash with the one-off 150th anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne. If it starts later, it would probably not finish in time for the early summer Test, which is set to be against Bangladesh and start on May 28. After that, England have the Ashes, which they have not won since 2015, a year after Flower’s stint ended.
Dinesh Karthik, the former India batsman who works as batting coach with RCB and London Spirit, said he would be “very surprised” if the ECB could persuade Flower to do the job, and pointed out that it would open a can of worms when it came to player availability for the IPL. The likes of Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell have been criticised for their late returns from the IPL before Tests, while McCullum was often criticised for not watching county cricket at that time of year.
“I think he’d be a great candidate,” Karthik said on the Sky Cricket Podcast. “I would be very surprised if he took it, given where England are, and his packed schedules.
“I saw that England would accommodate the IPL, and then the rest of Test cricket. But with the schedule the way it is… when Jacob Bethell didn’t come in for the first Test, Jofra Archer not being available. Obviously kicked up a fuss and plenty of people said ‘Why? How come some of the players aren’t there?’
“Flower has a pre-signed contract with RCB which means he would miss parts of those. Would it be OK for England in preparation for the Ashes if they didn’t have a coach for a Test or two? There is a Test match against Bangladesh in May next year. If Andy Flower is doing RCB, that could be a challenge.
“Is he good? Definitely, he’s one of the best. Would he have time? That’s the question. I would be very surprised if the answer is yes. But if they found a good partnership with it all settled: why not?”